House plan would forgive unpaid driver fees

A plan to grant amnesty to people who owe sometimes thousands of dollars in unpaid driver responsibility fees is in the works. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers rolled out the proposal today (Thu.).

The bills would not only accelerate the phaseout of the fees, they would forgive $630 million dollars in unpaid fees.

House Speaker Tom Leonard says it’s unlikely most of that money would ever be collected, but he says hundreds of thousands of people are saddled with the hardship of being unable to legally drive.

"As soon we eliminate these fees, these hundred thousand people will be able to obtain a driver’s license and, hopefully, many of them will obtain a job,” Leonard said.

The driver fees have long been derided as unfair and a budget-balancing money grab that particularly hurts poor people.